Spanish language interpreter, employed by the Terrebonne Parish Government, is in jail for allegedly taking money from some defendants, telling them she would use that money to bribe the US Immigration Services to get their cases dropped. 45-year-old Trina Bourg was arrested on federal and state charges.

Lafayette Congressman Charles Boustany files legislation that would give south Louisiana veterans the option to receive health care from a non V-A provider. Boustany says the federal government should pay for the care. There is another bill that would authorize new VA clinics in Lafayette and Lake Charles. But Boustany says our veterans in those areas shouldn’t have to wait for the new clinics to open, so he wants to give them the option to receive care from a non VA provider.

Thousands of people who bought health insurance through the marketplace created by the federal health care overhaul face price hikes next year that could top 10 percent. More than 60,000 people who get health insurance through the individual marketplace, which was expanded by the federal Affordable Care Act , are in line for double-digit rate increases on Jan. 1 if they keep their current policies. Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon said the average health insurance rate increase planned in the state's individual market next year is 12 percent to 13 percent.

A report from the American Gaming Association ranks Louisiana fourth for its number of casino jobs. The group says the state’s 19 casinos employ 15,706 people on a permanent basis.

The LSU Ag Center has launched a statewide billboard campaign urging people to engage in a more healthy lifestyle. Diane Sasser is the AgCenter director of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Educational Program. She says the first message to be promoted is for people to eat more fruits and vegetable. Sasser says this effort also includes banners and posters that will be displayed in schools, stores and parish extension offices.

The man who is in jail for the Bourbon Street shooting in New Orleans that killed one and injured nine made a court appearance this morning. Twenty year-old Trung Le faces one count of first-degree murder, and 9 counts of attempted first-degree murder, but his attorney says there is video evidence he says will clear his client.

A federal judge has decided he doesn’t need to hear more arguments in the case of a gay couple who want a Louisiana marriage license. U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman has already heard arguments regarding Louisiana’s refusal to recognize the unions of gay couples legally married in other states. At the end of that hearing he asked for briefs on related issues, including whether the state’s refusal to let same-sex couples marry in Louisiana is constitutional. Feldman said he didn’t want to make a piecemeal ruling on the gay marriage issue. He gave no indication when he will rule.

An assistant principal at a Baton Rouge Middle School is facing charges in connection with the exchange of naked pictures with a 15 year-old former student. BRPD Sergeant L’Jean (el gene) McKneely says the mother contacted police about the crime and an official investigation was launched. The suspect is 42 year-old Edwin Chastang, and he is charged with indecent behavior with a juvenile and also computer aided solicitation of a minor. He’s been suspended with pay from the school.

A Monroe couple is charged with second degree cruelty to a juvenile after taking their 7-week old son to the hospital. The Monroe Police Department believe the infant suffered repeated abuse. Assistant Police Chief Don Bartley says officers responded to a call from a local hospital in reference to an injured child. Doctors discovered the child was suffering from bleeding on the brain. The medical tests showed various stages of healing in the child’s brain, which indicated repeated abuse.

Following a discovery in Arkansas, Agriculture Commissioner Dr. Mike Strain says the USDA is conducting trap surveys across the state to watch for Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) beetles. Strain says the EAB is an invasive beetle that attacks and kills ash trees. He says when the pest gets into an ash tree, it generally kills the tree in three to five years. The EAB was first discovered in Michigan in 2002 and is now present in 24 states.